Translation of the Doctorate Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University

Transcription

1 Translation of the Doctorate Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University Please note: only the German version of these regulations as published in the official gazette is binding. This translation is to be used only as guidance for foreign doctoral candidates. 1

2 Doctorate Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University of January 11, 2007 The Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University have issued the following doctorate regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology based on section 64 of the law no concerning Saarland University (university law UG) of June 23, 2004 (official gazette p. 1782), last amended by the law no concerning the amendment to the Saarland university fees law and other laws of July 12, 2006 (official gazette p. 1226) which is hereby pronounced after being approved by the senate and the university board. Overview Section 1. Principles I. Regular doctorate procedure Section 2. Section 3. Section 4: Section 5: Section 6: Section 7: Section 8: Section 9: Section 10: Section 11: Section 12: Section 13: Section 14: Section 15: Section 16: Section 17: Section 18: Section 19: II. Section 20: III. Section 21: Doctorate committee Admission to doctorate procedure Thesis Opening of the doctorate procedure Duration of the doctorate procedure Evaluation of the thesis Examination board Colloquium Overall evaluation of the results in the doctorate procedure Invalidity of the results in the doctorate procedure Reproduction of the thesis Doctorate certificate Renewal of the doctorate certificate Revocation of the doctorate degree Right of objection Right of inspection Deadlines Doctorate procedure under the joint supervision of a foreign faculty Honorary doctorate Execution of an honorary doctorate procedure Interim Regulations Entry into force 2

3 Section 1 Principles (1) The Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology at Saarland University confer the following doctorate degrees after proof of academic qualifications (regular doctorate procedure): Doktorin der Naturwissenschaften (doctrix rerum naturalium Dr. rer. nat.), Doktor der Naturwissenschaften (doctor rerum naturalium Dr. rer. nat.), Doktorin der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Doktor-Ingenieurin Dr.-Ing.), Doktor der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Doktor-Ingenieur Dr.-Ing.). They further confer the following honours by virtue of excellent scientific results or merits (honorary doctorate degree): Ehrendoktorin der Naturwissenschaften (doctrix rerum naturalium honoris causa Dr. rer. nat. h.c.) Ehrendoktor der Naturwissenschaften (doctor rerum naturalium honoris causa Dr. rer. nat. h.c.) Ehrendoktorin der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Doktor-Ingenieurin Ehren halber Dr.-Ing. E.h.) Ehrendoktor der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Doktor-Ingenieur Ehren halber Dr.-Ing. E.h.) (2) Upon request the doctorate degree can be conferred on women in the male linguistic form. I. Regular doctorate procedure Section 2 Doctorate committee (1) The regular doctorate procedures are carried out in the name of the respective Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology by the doctorate committee of this faculty. The results of a candidate in the doctorate procedure are assessed by persons who don t have to be members of the doctorate committee. (2) The doctorate committee of one of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology shall respectively include the following members: 1. A professor of the faculty as chairman/chairwoman 2. Two professors of the faculty 3. A research assistant of the faculty with a doctorate degree. The members according to sentence 1 no. 1 to 3 and respectively the same number of representatives shall be elected for two years by the respective faculty councils following the recommendation of the respective groups of members. Re-election is permitted. 3

4 (3)The doctorate committee shall have a quorum if more than half of its members are present. It shall pass a resolution by a majority of votes of the present members. In case of an equal number of votes the vote of the chairman or chairwoman shall be decisive. (4) The candidate shall be informed of the decisions of the doctorate committee in writing. (5) The meetings of the doctorate committee are not held in public. The members are sworn to secrecy. Section 3 Admission to doctorate procedure (1) The pre-requisites for admission to the doctorate procedure are: 1. the satisfaction of the admission requirements according to UG [University Law] sect. 64, para. 2, 2. the proof of qualification, 3. the admission in the doctorate list of the Faculty. (2) The proof of the admission requirements according to para. 1, no. 1, is deemed as 1. completely provided within the meaning of UG 64 para. 2 no. 1 with the certificate of a final Master degree, which a) forms the completion of an at least five-year course of study at a university and b) which in terms of contents is oriented to mathematics-natural sciences or engineering science and can be allocated to a study course of one of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology and c) features a research oriented profile and d) includes a Master s thesis. 2. completely provided within the meaning of UG section 64, paragraph 2, no. 2 by the completion of a study course with the diploma examination or an equivalent examination with a standard study period of at least 8 semesters at a university or equivalent German higher education institution in mathematics, natural sciences or engineering which is allocated to a study course of one of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology; 3. partially provided within the meaning of UG section 64, para. 2. no. 3 through the first state examination for the teaching profession at grammar schools and comprehensive schools and for teaching professions at vocational schools, insofar as the scientific thesis was written in the subject of the doctorate project. Deemed as equivalent is the second part of the pharmaceutical state examination. 4

5 4. partially provided with the meaning of UG section 64, para. 2, no. 3 with the certificate of a Bachelor degree with excellent results which a) forms the completion of an at least three-year course of study at a university and b) which is oriented in terms of contents to mathematics-natural sciences or engineering science and can be allocated to a study course of one of the faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology and d) includes a Bachelor s thesis. Deemed as excellent is only an applicant who can prove an overall grade of 1.5 or better and has exceeded the standard study period by a maximum of one semester. 5. partially provided according to section 64, paragraph 2, no. 4 UG through the qualification with excellent results of a diploma study course at a German university of applied sciences, which is oriented in terms of contents to mathematics-natural sciences or engineering science and can be allocated to a study course of one of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology. Deemed as excellent is only an applicant who can prove an overall grade of 1.5 or better. The doctorate committee shall decide on the satisfaction of the admission requirements according to para. 1 no. 1 through degrees and examinations of other German or foreign university study qualifications by taking into consideration equivalence agreements. In case of doubt concerning the admission requirements through a foreign study qualification the central department for foreign education of the conference of the ministers of education [Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen der Kultusministerkonferenz] shall be consulted. (3) The grading of the qualification according to para. 1 no. 2 is carried out by the doctorate committee by means of a subject specific qualification determination procedure. (4) If the admission requirements according to para. 1 no. 1 have only been partially satisfied and/or if the qualification according to para. 1 no. 2 has not been clearly proven the doctorate committee can bind the admission to the doctorate procedure to the provision of reasonable preparatory study and examination results for the doctorate procedure with a total maximum scope of 90 ECTS credit points. The doctorate committee shall stipulate scope and type of these results as well as criteria and reasonable deadlines for these to be provided. (5) The doctorate procedure of a graduate from a university of applied sciences can also be carried out as cooperative doctorate procedure with the assistance of a professor of a German University of Applied Sciences holding a doctorate degree. (6) The faculties shall keep doctorate lists. A person who wishes to accomplish a doctorate at one of the faculties must apply for admission to this list at the beginning of the thesis in writing at the respective faculty. (7) To be submitted with the application for admission in the doctorate list: 5

6 1. Proof according to para. 1 no. 1 and no. 2, 2. The envisaged field of work for the thesis that is to be allocated to a field of work represented in the respective faculty according to its object or method, 3. The declaration of willingness of a member of the faculty, with the corresponding entitlement, to accept the applicant as doctoral candidate (supervisor of the thesis); in the event of a cooperative doctorate procedure according to para. 5 also a declaration of a professor of a university of applied sciences having a doctorate for assistance in the doctorate procedure. Members of the faculty who are entitled to supervise doctoral candidates are: professors, junior professors, withdrawn or retired professors, honorary professors, non-scheduled professors, university lecturers, private lecturers. The doctorate committee can also allocate the right to supervise doctoral candidates to members of the group of research assistants of the faculty having a doctorate if the member has been assigned the independent performance of tasks in research and studies by the dean and if a qualification as university lecturer comparable with a junior professor has been determined by an internal or external evaluation procedure, 4. A proposal for the appointment of the scientific supervisor from the circle of the members of the faculty entitled to supervise doctoral candidates (see no. 3), 5. A declaration whether, when and with which success the applicant has previously already undergone a doctorate procedure, 6. The designation of the envisaged doctor degree (section 1). The stated requirements shall also apply if the doctoral candidate is aiming at an external thesis and carries out an essential part of the work in this respect outside of the faculty. (8) The chairman of the doctorate committee or at her/his application the doctorate committee shall decide about the admission in the doctorate list. At the same time the scientific supervisor shall be appointed to secure good scientific practice according to the principles of Saarland University. The applicant will be informed of the decision in writing. In the case of rejection it also contains the grounds for the decision and instructions on rights of appeal. (9) With the admission in the doctorate list the faculty undertakes to ensure the further supervision of the thesis, if the supervisor leaves the service of the university. Section 4 Thesis (1) The thesis must represent an independently drawn up and reasonably formulated contribution of the doctoral candidate to scientific research, which is to be allocated to a field of work represented in the faculty according to the object or method. (2) An essay which the doctoral candidate submitted in another procedure to obtain an academic title cannot be submitted as a thesis. 6

7 (3) The thesis should be written in the German or English language. Upon application of the doctoral candidate the doctorate committee can allow the thesis to be submitted in another language. If the thesis is submitted in another language than German or English it must contain a detailed summary (approx. 2 pages) in the German or in English language. In any case the thesis must contain one short summary (maximum 1,500 characters including blanks) each in the German and in the English language. Section 5 Opening of the doctorate procedure (1) An application is to be filed in writing with the respective faculty for the doctorate proceedings to be opened. It presumes the admission in the doctorate list of the faculty. The following are to be enclosed with the application: 1. Printed and bound copies of the thesis, including page numbers, the number of which is to be stipulated by the doctorate committee, 2. the affidavit according to annex 1, 3. curriculum vitae and academic career. In addition the doctorate committee can request the submission of an electronic version of the thesis with the same contents as the printed form according to subclause 1 in a customary format as approved by the doctorate committee. Proposals for the appointment of reporters for the submitted thesis can be enclosed with the application. (2) The chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee or at his/her request the doctorate committee shall decide about the application for opening the doctorate procedure. The rejection of an application requires in any case the decision of the doctorate committee. (3) The reporters (section 7 para. 1) shall be appointed when the procedure is opened. The doctoral candidate shall receive a written notification about the opening of the procedure. (4) The opening of the procedure can be withdrawn without a reservation having been previously expressed, if it turns out subsequently that essential pre-requisites according to para. 1 and section 3 para. 3, 4 and 6 were not satisfied or if circumstances exist based on which an acquired doctor s title could be revoked according to a statutory regulation (section 15 para. 1). (5) The thesis shall be deemed as not submitted in case the application for opening of the doctorate procedure is withdrawn. The application for opening the doctorate procedure can no longer be withdrawn if the doctoral candidate has received a rejection concerning the thesis or the colloquium was started. (6) All documents shall pass to the property of the faculty irrespective of the outcome of the doctorate procedure. Only if the application is withdrawn according to para. 5 can the doctoral candidate demand that the submitted documents be returned with the exception of the formal application. 7

8 Section 6 Duration of the doctorate procedure The duration of the doctorate procedure from the entry in the doctorate list until the opening of the doctorate procedure (section 5) should as a rule last three years and only in justified exception more than five years. Section 7 Evaluation of the thesis (1) When the procedure is opened the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee or at his/her request the doctorate committee shall appoint two reporters for evaluating the thesis. The following can be appointed in this respect: professors, junior professors, university lecturers, withdrawn or retired professors, non-scheduled professors, private lecturers of a university or equivalent further education institution. Members of the group of the research assistants of the faculty having a doctorate, who have been granted the right to supervise doctoral candidates by the doctoral committee, can also be appointed. The supervisor of the doctoral candidate is to be appointed as reporter. (2) Outstanding specialists with doctorates at an internationally recognised research institution can also be appointed as reporters with the approval of the doctorate committee. The doctorate committee can authorize the chairman or woman in advance to appoint such persons as reporters. In the event of a cooperative doctorate procedure with a University of Applied Sciences the respective professor of the University of Applied Sciences can be appointed as further reporter. (3) One of the reporters must be a professor of the faculty according to section 32 UG or have accepted the applicant as doctorate candidate according to section 3 para. 6 no. 3 and have been professor of the faculty at the time when the applicant was admitted in the doctorate list. The faculty council can decide to deem a member of the faculty who is entitled to supervise doctoral candidates, who is not a professor of the faculty, equivalent to professors of the faculty in this respect. (4) The evaluation should be carried out within 2 months. If the evaluation is not yet available after expiry of this deadline, then the chairman or chairwoman of the doctoral committee should set a final deadline of two weeks. If the evaluation is not available even after expiry of this final deadline the order for evaluation shall expire and the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee shall determine a new reporter. (5) Each reporter shall submit a written evaluation on the thesis and propose the acceptance of the thesis, its return for improvement or its rejection. The proposal for acceptance is to be combined with an evaluation according to the grade scale listed in section 10 para. 3. (6) The chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee ensures a further evaluation if 8

9 1. the reporters deviate from each other in their proposals for acceptance, return for improvement or rejection of the thesis or by more than one grade in their evaluations, 2. the thesis has been evaluated with the grade summa cum laude; in this case one of the evaluations should be submitted by an external reporter, 3. a reporter requests a further evaluation. In other cases the doctorate committee can appoint a further reporter. (7) A thesis will be returned to the doctoral candidate for improvement if substantial changes or supplements are necessary for its acceptance. The reporter shall name in a written form the items to be improved for forwarding to the doctoral candidate. If the improved thesis is not submitted within one year the doctoral procedure is deemed as completed unsuccessfully. The thesis can only be returned for improvement one time. (8) The thesis and the evaluation shall be available to the members of the doctoral committee as well as the other members of the faculty who are entitled to supervise doctoral candidates for examination for two weeks during the period of lectures and for four weeks during the period in which no lectures are given. Their attention has to be confirmed by signature, and they can give a written statement on the thesis and the evaluation. (9) The doctorate committee shall decide about the acceptance of the thesis, its return for improvement or its rejection. The proposal or majority of the reporters is deemed as resolution of the doctorate committee if no deviating position has been taken within the deadline determined in para. 8. (10) If the thesis is rejected the doctorate procedure is deemed as completed unsuccessfully. The applicant will receive a written notification from the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee in this respect which contains the grounds for the decision and instructions on the rights of appeal. Section 8 Examination board (1) A scientific colloquium (section 9) will take place before an examination board after the acceptance of the thesis. The members of the examination board must include at least two professors of the faculty. It shall consist of: 1. A professor of the faculty who may not be reporter, as chairman or chairwoman 2. The reporters 3. A research assistant of the faculty with a doctorate. (2) The chairman or chairwoman and the member according to para. 1 sentence 2 no. 3 shall be appointed by the chairman/chairwoman of the doctorate committee or at his/her request by the doctorate committee. (3) If one of the reporters is prevented from participating in the further procedure a professor or a private lecturer of the faculty shall be appointed as member of the examination board to replace this person according to para. 1 sentence 2. If more than 9

10 two reporters have been appointed for the thesis then at least two must take part in the further procedure. (4) The faculty council can decide to deem a member of the faculty, who is entitled to supervise doctoral candidates according to section 3 para. 7 no. 3 and who is not a professor of the faculty, equivalent to the professors of the faculty with regard to para. 1 no. 1 or para. 3. Section 9 Colloquium (1) The colloquium serves to prove the scientific qualification of the doctoral candidate in addition to the thesis. (2) The chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee shall determine the date for the colloquium by mutual agreement with the chairman or chairwoman of the examination board and shall announce this date with a period of notice of one week. Upon request of the candidate the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee can exclude the public from the colloquium or a part of the colloquium. The application shall be permitted if important legal or commercial interests of the candidate are at risk. In any case the members of the doctorate committee as well as all members of the faculty who are entitled to supervise doctoral candidates are entitled to take part. The date of the colloquium should not be any later than 2 months after the acceptance of the thesis. (3) The colloquium shall be chaired by the chairman or chairwoman of the examination board. (4) The oral examination shall begin with a report of the doctoral candidate about the thesis which shall last around 30 minutes. (5) The colloquium shall cover the bases of the thesis as well as questions associated with the specialist field of the thesis in terms of facts or methods. (6) The colloquium shall as a rule last at least 60 minutes and no longer than 90 minutes. (7) The German and the English language are permitted for the presentation and the questions of the colloquium by mutual agreement with the doctoral candidate and the members of the examination board. (8) Minutes shall be prepared concerning the course of the colloquium which shall be signed by the members of the examination board. (9) If the doctoral candidate fails to appear on the date for the colloquium without a justified reason the doctoral procedure shall be deemed as completed unsuccessfully. The doctoral committee shall decide about the recognition of the reason for failure to appear at the date. 10

11 Section 10 Overall evaluation of the results in the doctorate procedure (1) Following the colloquium the examination board shall deliberate in private and decide whether the candidate is to be conferred a doctorate, to repeat the colloquium or the doctorate is to be rejected. If the candidate is to be conferred a doctorate the examination board can render the correction of insignificant formal or contextual defects in the thesis a condition for the conferral of the doctorate. The colloquium can only be repeated one time. (2) The decision according to para. 1 shall be reached by the examination board with a majority of the votes. In case of an equal number of votes the vote of the chairman or chairwoman shall be decisive. (3) One of the following overall grades shall be awarded if the candidate is to be conferred a doctorate: Excellent (summa cum laude) Very good (magna cum laude) Good (cum laude) Satisfactory (rite) The examination board shall decide on the overall grade which shall be derived from the evaluation of the thesis and the evaluation of the results in the colloquium with a majority of the votes. In case of an equal number of votes the vote of the chairman or chairwoman shall be decisive. The grade excellent (summa cum laude) can only be awarded if all reporters have evaluated the thesis with this grade and all members of the examination board vote in favour of this. The decision about the overall grade is to be substantiated in the minutes. (4) The decision of the examination board according to para. 1 shall be publicly announced by the chairman or the chairwoman. Section 11 Invalidity of the results in the doctorate procedure (1) If it is determined before presentation of the doctorate certificate that the candidate was deceitful when proving the admission requirements or with the results in the doctorate procedure or that essential requirements for admission to the doctorate procedure were assumed by mistake the results in the doctorate procedure can be declared as invalid through a resolution of the doctorate committee. (2) Before the resolution is passed the candidate shall be given the opportunity to make a statement. The resolution is to be substantiated and served to the person concerned with the instructions on rights to appeal. 11

12 Section 12 Reproduction of the thesis (1) If the candidate is to be conferred a doctorate he/she must deliver two mandatory copies to the faculty. The mandatory copies are to be produced in a reproduction procedure approved by the doctorate committee. If the thesis has not been published in print the university shall be granted the right to reproduce the thesis in a maximum of one hundred copies when the mandatory copies are delivered. The candidate must in addition deliver an electronic version of the thesis in a customary file format approved by the doctorate committee and for the event that the thesis was not published in print grant the university the right to reproduce this (possibly through transmission into another customary file format) in data networks and make it accessible to the public. The candidate must give his/her assurance in writing that the electronic version corresponds with the printed version in terms of contents. Following a substantiated application of the candidate the doctorate committee can exempt the candidate from the obligation to deliver an electronic version. (2) Deviations of the reproduced version from the accepted version require the consent of the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee. In particular the chairman or chairwoman shall decide about the satisfaction of conditions for correcting insignificant defects in the thesis according to section 10 para. 1. In case of changes which affect the contents the chairman or chairwoman shall obtain the approval of the reporter. (3) On the title page and by stating the town and year when the thesis was submitted the thesis is to be described as thesis for obtaining the title of Doctor of Natural Sciences of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University or as thesis for obtaining the title of Doctor of Engineering of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University. The date of the colloquium as well as the names of the dean of the respective faculty and the members of the examination board are to be stated on the rear of the title page. (4) The doctorate committee can grant exemption from the obligations according to para. 3 if the thesis is published in a magazine or as independent written paper. Slight deviations from the form according to para. 3 can be permitted by the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee. (5) The conferral of the doctorate presumes the delivery of the mandatory copies. (6) If the mandatory copies are not submitted within one year after the colloquium all rights acquired through the results in the doctorate procedure shall expire. The doctorate committee can extend the deadline upon request of the candidate. (7) Following the substantiated application of the candidate the faculty shall only make the contents of the thesis accessible to the public after a reasonable period of time of a maximum of 2 years after the date of the colloquium. The application shall be approved if important legal or commercial interests of the candidate are at risk. The chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee shall decide about the application. 12

13 Section 13 Doctorate certificate (1) The dean shall confer the doctorate by presenting the doctorate certificate as soon as the requirements of section 12 have been satisfied. The date of the colloquium shall be deemed as date of conferral of the doctorate. (2) The doctorate certificate shall contain the title of the thesis, the names of the reporters and the overall grade. It shall be signed by the university president and the dean of the respective faculty and bear the seal of the faculty. (3) With the receipt of the doctorate certificate the candidate is granted the right to use the title of doctor. Section 14 Renewal of the doctorate certificate Upon application of the candidate or for another special reason the dean can renew the doctorate certificate on the fiftieth anniversary of the conferral of the doctorate within the framework of a ceremony through a resolution of the faculty council. Section 15 Revocation of the doctorate degree (1) The doctorate degree can be revoked through a resolution of the faculty council if it is determined that it was acquired through deceit or that essential requirements for the conferral were assumed by mistake. (2) The holder shall be given the opportunity to make a statement before the resolution is passed. The resolution is to be substantiated and served to the person concerned with the instructions on rights of appeal. Section 16 Right of objection Objections against decisions in the procedures of these regulations are to be filed in writing with the dean within one month. The deadline shall begin with the announcement of the decision towards the person filing the objection. The doctorate committee shall decide about objections. The deadline is also safeguarded if the objection is filed with the doctorate committee. 13

14 Section 17 Right of inspection If the procedure has been completed the doctoral candidate is to be granted the right to inspect the evaluation according to section 7 and the minutes of the scientific colloquium according to section 9. Section 18 Deadlines Periods of maternal leave, periods of parental leave and family obligations (education of a minor child as well as the supervision of family members who require nursing) must be taken into account with all deadlines set in these regulations. Section 19 Doctorate procedure under the joint supervision of a foreign faculty (1) The general provisions of these regulations shall apply to the doctorate procedure under the joint supervision of a foreign faculty of natural sciences and technology or natural sciences or engineering sciences with the exception of those which are regulated otherwise in this section 19 and those which oppose these deviating regulations. (2) Regular doctorate procedures can also be prepared and carried out under joint supervision with a foreign faculty of natural sciences and technology or natural sciences or engineering sciences if: 1. the submission of a thesis and an oral doctorate examination is required for the conferral of a doctorate, 2. other doctorate results do not need to be provided and 3. an agreement has been reached with the foreign faculty which has been approved by the doctorate committee. The agreement should contain regulations about details of the joint supervision, the enrolment of the candidate at a university and if necessary about a registration of the subject of the thesis. (3) The admission to the doctorate procedure under joint supervision presumes that the candidate has completed his/her studies with a degree or an examination according to which he/she is entitled to be admitted to a doctorate procedure at the foreign faculty, which participates in the supervision. (4) If the national language at the foreign faculty is not the German language the thesis can be submitted in this national language insofar as it includes a summary in the German language. The exemption from the requirement of sentence 1 can be granted in the agreement according to para. 2 sentence 1 no. 3. It can also be stipulated in the agreement that the candidate may submit the thesis in another language than the German language or the national language at the foreign faculty and be regulated whether and in which languages summaries are required. (5) The candidate shall be accepted as doctoral candidate and supervised by one university lecturer each from the two participating faculties. The names of the persons 14

15 who assume responsibility for the supervision are to be given in the agreement according to para. 2 sentence 1 no. 3. (6) If the oral doctorate examination takes place as a colloquium at Saarland University, the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee shall appoint the two supervisors as reporters. In this case the examination board shall at least include the following: 1. as chair a professor of the local faculty who may not be a reporter, 2. the reporters for the thesis, 3. an academic teaching person of the foreign faculty. It can be envisaged in the agreement according to para. 2 sentence 1 no. 3 that further members in the respective equal number from the two participating faculties can be members of the examination board, in an individual case these can also include particularly distinguished members of the universities, with doctorates, in the specialist field of the thesis who belong to the two faculties. The chairman or chairwoman and the members of the examination board shall be appointed by the chairman or chairwoman of the doctorate committee. Supplementary provisions can be reached in the agreement according to para. 2 sentence 1 no. 3. The appointment of members of the examination board who are not university lecturers at one of the two participating faculties requires the approval of the doctorate committee. (7) If the oral doctorate performance takes place as a colloquium at Saarland University the colloquium is to take place in the German, English or French language. (8) The evaluation of the colloquium and the evaluation of the results in the doctorate procedure shall also be carried out according to the law applicable for the participating foreign faculty. Whether and to what extent this regulation is disclosed when announcing the results and in the doctorate certificate shall be decided according to the law which is applicable for the participating foreign faculty. If the doctorate procedure is carried out under the joint supervision at the foreign university the results in the doctorate procedure must also be evaluated according to section 10. (9) The doctorate certificate is to bear the seal of the two participating faculties. If the oral doctorate performance does not take place at Saarland University the doctorate certificate must comply with the requirements of section 13 by taking into account the regulations which apply to the foreign faculty. If separate certificates are issued it must also be clear from both certificates that the simultaneous use of the doctor titles is excluded. Further, in this case it must be pointed out in both certificates and in both languages that it concerns the conferral of a doctor title based on joint doctoral procedures of the two participating faculties. (10) With the receipt of the doctorate certificate the doctors are granted the right to use the corresponding doctor title (section 13 para. 3) in the Federal Republic of Germany and in the state to which the participating foreign faculty belongs. The doctorate certificate must contain a supplement that the conferred foreign doctor title is not an academic title acquired overseas within the meaning of the law governing the use of academic titles of July 7, 1939 (RGBl. I S. 985). (11) The law of the faculty at which the oral doctorate performance has been brought shall apply to the reproduction of the thesis and the number of mandatory copies. 15

16 II. Honorary doctorate Section 20 Execution of an honorary doctorate procedure (1) An application for execution of an honorary doctorate procedure is to be filed by at least three professors of the respective faculty and include detailed reasons. (2) The dean shall inform the members in a meeting of the faculty council by stating the name of the proposed candidate that an application has been filed and inform the doctorate committee. (3) The faculty council shall form a committee with the dean as chairman or chairwoman no earlier than in the meeting which follows the announcement. The committee shall include all professors of the specialist field in which the honorary doctorate procedure is to be carried out as well as at least two professors from the other specialist fields of the faculty and at least one member of the group of research assistants of the faculty with a doctorate. The members of the doctorate committee are to be given the opportunity to participate in the meetings. The faculty council shall further appoint at least two external professors as experts. (4) The committee shall discuss the application and the expert opinion and prepare a draft for the decision of the faculty council. (5) The faculty council shall decide on the draft of the committee in a secret voting procedure. The resolution requires the majority of two thirds of the votes cast. (6) The faculty shall give the senate the opportunity to make a statement in order to safeguard the general interests of the university. (7) The honorary doctorate shall be conferred in a ceremony by the dean by presentation of a certificate signed by the university president and by the dean and bearing the seal of the faculty, in which the scientific results and merits of the doctor are to be emphasised. The dean shall issue the invitations to the ceremony. (8) Section 13 para. 3, section 14, section 15 and section 16 shall apply accordingly. 16

17 III. Interim regulations Section 21 Entry into force (1) These regulations shall come into force on the day after their announcement in the official gazette of the universities of Saarland. (2) Doctorate procedures which are pending when these regulations come into force shall be carried out according to the provisions of these regulations at the request of the doctoral candidate. (3) The affidavit according to annex 1 is to be submitted in any case. Saarbrücken, June 8, 2007 The university president Univ.-Prof. Dr. Volker Linneweber Annex 1 Affidavit I hereby swear in lieu of an oath that I have independently prepared this thesis and without using other aids than those stated. The data and concepts taken over from other sources or taken over indirectly are indicated citing the source. The thesis was not submitted so far either in Germany or in another country in the same or a similar form in a procedure for obtaining an academic title. Place, date (signature) 17

18 Translation of the regulations amending the Doctorate Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University Please note: only the German version of these regulations as published in the official gazette is binding. This translation is to be used only as guidance for foreign doctoral candidates. Regulation amending the Doctorate Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University of October 28, 2010 The Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University have issued the following regulation amending the doctorate regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology based on section 64 of the law no concerning Saarland University (university law UG) of June 23, 2004 (official gazette p. 1782), last amended by the law no concerning the end of the collection of the Saarland university fees of February 10, 2010 (official gazette p. 28) which is hereby pronounced after being approved by the senate and the university board. Section 1 The Doctorate Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University of January 11, 2007 (official gazette p. 254) is amended as: Section 8 (1) is replaced by the following version: (1) A scientific colloquium (section 9) will take place before an examination board after the acceptance of the thesis. The members of the examination board must include at least two professors of the faculty. It shall consist of: 1. A professor of the faculty who may not be reporter, as chairman or chairwoman 2. The reporters 3. A research assistant of the faculty with a doctorate. On application to the doctorate committee, in exceptional cases research assistants with a doctorate of cooperating research institutions can be appointed as members of the examination board. The list of the cooperating research institutions in this sense is defined by binding mutual agreement between the three Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology. It can be supplemented with other institutes and research institutions after agreement of all three faculties. Changes and additions must always be in writing. Section 2 These regulations shall come into force on the day after their announcement in the official gazette of the universities of Saarland. Saarbrücken, November 19, 2010 The university president 18

19 Univ.-Prof. Dr. Volker Linneweber 19